Charles Stein Reads from The Odyssey, and a Deerhead is Discovered

“We didn’t expect the deerhead.”

Nestled between two scenery shots of Hudson Valley lies this statement from blogger Geof Huth, an attendee at author Charles Stein’s recent event showcasing his new translation of The Odyssey. The November 14, 2008 event, “Reading – Book Signing – Celebration,” took place at the historic Rokeby estate in Barrytown, New York, a fitting site considering the classical nature of the book being featured. At the event Stein read a few excerpts and discussed his viewpoint on Homeric storytelling, as well as the difference between classical and modern-day audiences. Stein’s translation appeals to the latter through its fitting and grounded language. But what would seem a standard author event for most would turn out to be something entirely different for one.

Scrolling down past the pictures of the valley on Huth’s blog entry “Deerhead Orientation: the Tinture of Her Shroud,” the reader is assaulted by a photo of a dismembered deer’s head along with one of its forelegs on a plastic tarp (not for the squeamish). Accompanying the photo is the blogger’s poetic account of finding such a sight:

In a poetry reading, even of a translation of an ancient work, one expects some of the usual invisible features: chairs, eyes downcast as the poet reads, food, wine over all other beverages, an audience different from any you find at any other event. But you don’t expect to find, on the grass at the foot of the stairs from the porch, a deerhead, the skin of the neck folded away to reveal the esophagus, a perfect fragment of a foreleg seeming to grow out of the deer’s soft furry throat.

Random deer head aside, the rest of the entry contains similarly lyrical descriptions of Rokeby, including Huth’s humorous interpretation on classical sculpture, along with an full description of the reading including videos of Stein and explanations on his thought process while working on his translation.

To read Geof Huth’s full blog entry click here.
To see a previous post discussing Stein’s The Odyssey click here.
For more information on The Odyssey by Charles Stein click here.

Thanks goes out to our Editorial Intern Lauren Chan for this post.